Syrian refugees in Egypt being treated like garbage

Some 88 Syrian refugees, including 25 children, are waiting to be deported to other countries after being detained in Alexandria.

The refugees detained are accused of attempting to emigrate illegally from Egypt. "They were deceived by someone in Alexandria who took money from them and convinced that they can emigrate from Egypt to Italy," said Safia Serry, an activist from Alexandria who is following the Syrian refugees file in the city.

...Serry adds that some of the Syrians detained in Alexandria received official refugee refugee IDs. "Many of those Syrian refugees got yellow IDs as refugees registered with UNHCR, while Palestinians who used to live in Syria and that came to Egypt as refugees got white IDs," Serry told Ahram Online.

"Things are harder for the Palestinians who do not have money as they have no passports, only limited travel documents," Serry said, adding that deported Palestinians have no option but to return to Syria.

Since 30 June, Syrian refugees have been facing accusations from media in Egypt of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, especially that some Syrian songs and chants, as well Syrian independence flags, were witnessed in the pro-Morsi Rabaa Al-Adawiya sit-in dispersed by force 14 August.

Several media figures like Youssef El-Hossainy and Mohamed El-Ghaity — as well as Tawfik Okasha, who asked viewers directly to attack Palestinians and Syrians in Egypt — have frequently attacked the Syrians on their TV shows, portraying them not only as supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, but as trying to destabilise the country and transfer the Syrian experience to Egypt.

Even among Egyptian political figures the die is cast against Syrian refugees. Mostafa El-Gundy, a leading member of the Constitution Party, called on the Egyptian people in July to kill any Syrian or Palestinian on the spot if caught at any major checkpoint after the ousting of Morsi. Rumours spread at the time of the Rabaa sit-in alleged that the Muslim Brotherhood were hiring Syrians to participate in their rallies and that Syrian women were offered as brides in Rabaa.

The media campaigns led to pronounced xenophobia in some areas in Egypt against Syrians. Some Syrian refugees have reported being attacked and harassed by angry citizens in Alexandria and 6th of October City. Some Syrian owned shops and small restaurants in 6th of October City area, where there is a large Syrian community since two years, have also been targeted.

Some Syrian families have been forced to leave apartments they rented as owners refuse to have Syrians as tenants after the media campaign, said Al-Atassi.

“Families are scared to send their children to buy anything from the street. They now fear to speak in Syrian accent for fear of being spotted and attacked in the street,” another Syrian activist in Egypt told Ahram Online, preferring to remain anonymous out of concerns for safety.

“I know a man who was attacked and stabbed by an angry mob just because he is Syrian. This man is a father who lost a child and a wife in the war and came to Egypt searching for safety for the rest of his family,” said the activist.

Must be the occupation, since everyone knows that is the source of all the problems in the Middle East.